Crazy comebacks, just the start for the Bucs and kitchen table Monopoly mastery | RYAN PRITT
A few ins, a few outs and a few what-have-yous:
Don’t call it a comeback.
Call it business as usual.
At least it was in football this weekend, as other than the Gator hatchlings getting downed by the Beavers like a lakeside willow tree in the Las Vegas Bowl, seemingly no lead was safe.
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It started with that ridiculous Vikings-Colts clash on Saturday, one in which Indianapolis piled up a 33-0 lead before falling 39-36 in overtime, with quarterback Matt Ryan out-Matt-Ryaning himself.
I know, Ryan doesn’t play defense and putting it all on him seems rather unfair, especially considering the Colts scored 36 points. But really, how is it that he’s been on the bad end of so many of these types of games? Letting Tom Brady come back and get you is one thing, but this was Kirk Cousins.
By the way, is anyone else finding it difficult not to contract a case of Jaguars fever? From down 27-10 in the third quarter to beating Dallas 40-34 in overtime, Jacksonville has suddenly — thanks to the equally-as-suddenly, free-falling Tennessee Titans — put itself right back in the playoff picture, having won three of its last four and four of its last six.
Never in more dramatic fashion than Sunday though, as Dak Prescott had the Cowboys marching toward a game-winning field goal in the extra period before the Jags’ Rayshawn Jennings gathered up a deflected ball and sprinted 52 yards to the end zone. The crowd went crazy, albeit in equal parts cheers and groans from the near-split crowd. (C’mon Jacksonville!)
And yet, as improbable as that finish was, it wasn’t even the nuttiest finish of the day, with the Raiders saying, “hold my clam chowder.”
Did the Patriots forget the score was tied? I just don’t understand, and I’m pretty sure Bill Belichick didn’t either. But with time hitting zeroes in a 24-24 tussle, New England started tossing the ball around like a team down six trying to pull a band-is-on-the-field miracle.
Instead, the blessing was bestowed on Las Vegas and into the arms of Chandler Jones, who caught a desperation heave from New England’s Jakobi Meyers, trucked over Pats quarterback Mac Jones and strolled 48 yards to the end zone.
30-24. Ball game.
When I first arrived here in October from West Virginia, where snow and ice fall but sports betting is legal, I was disappointed to have to delete my DraftKings app. Weekends like this one make me feel much better about being merely a neutral observer.
The Bucs start here
It was certainly fun to jump on the ride, albeit late, during Mainland High School’s run to the Class 3S state finals.
The Buccaneers’ appearance ended a 19-year drought and speaking of droughts, could we maybe just get a few bottles of Aquafina or Dasani for the working media? It’s difficult to conduct post-game interviews with your lips stuck to your teeth like Fire Marshall Bill.
I could focus on the negatives, but Jon Santucci of the Palm Beach Post already hit the nail on the head in his postgame takeaways after a thrilling Lake Wales 32-30 victory over the Buccaneers. The officiating must be better, especially at that level, but a late bad call didn’t cost Mainland the game. Three turnovers, two of which came inside the Highlanders’ 5-yard line, went much further toward the outcome.
Yet, while it was a bitter ending, once the dust settled and emotions leveled, I think most involved would agree the experience was a positive one. Coach Travis Roland credited the crowd for backing the team not only this past weekend but in the weeks that preceded it. Senior Ajai Harrell turned in an all-timer performance with 353 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. And Roland believes it was just the beginning, with the program seemingly back on the statewide stage.
Indeed, perhaps the Bucs start here.
Kitchen table normalcy
Finally, maybe the biggest comeback of the weekend didn’t come on the football field, but at our kitchen table.
Yours truly roared back from an early hole, cornered the market and game board with possession of all the yellow and green properties and stole victory from defeat yet again as family Monopoly champion, much to the chagrin of my fiancée, Kelsea, and 11-year-old, Maleah.
It was a notable win, not because it extended my streak of dominance, but because it was our first game at a table here, one that Kelsea found Sunday morning on Facebook Yard Sale. It’s easy to take for granted what a slab of wood on four standing legs can mean, especially to a family still adjusting to a new place.
And as crazy as it's been for me professionally, sometimes it's easy to forget they're adapting as well. Over pasta and then over a board game, it was nice to have a normal space to discuss such things, once again.
In our house, the comeback of family game night trumped them all.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NFL comebacks, Mainland ends prep football drought and Monopoly mastery
